Two Arrested as Thousands Protest Second Freeze

Thousands protested in Jerusalem Sunday against continuing the the freeze on construction in Judea and Samaria.

By Gil Ronen, Elad Benari & Yoni Kempinski

First Publish: 11/21/2010, 5:36 PM / Last Update: 11/21/2010, 8:36 PM

Two people were arrested on Sunday shortly after thousands of people protested in Jerusalem against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's agreement to continue the the freeze on construction of homes for Jewish people in Judea and Samaria. The protest took place outside the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem.

After the protest, dozens of youths blocked the entrance to Jerusalem. They were subsequently removed from the area by police and proceeded to block other sections of the city. Eventually they left without a confrontation with police.

Right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir, who participated in the demonstrations, said that Netanyahu is "igniting in the street, causing the public to go to out to the roads. Netanyahu's government divides the people and betrays its voters."

After the demonstrators cleared the streets, MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union), said that "if the Arabs are allowed and students are allowed, there is no reason that residents will not be allowed to block intersections, when [Netanyahu] is leading racist policies against Jews and brings destruction."

Netanyahu's plan is being peddled by US President Barack Obama, who has threatened to back a unilateral Palestinian Authority declaration of statehood if Israel does not do as he wishes.

The government is awaiting a letter from the US Administration that is to spell out the exact terms of the agreement the White House desires, and to make clear that no further freeze extensions will be demanded.